This study focuses on the changes in consciousness of the gentry in the late period of Joseon and a phase of change in the history of Sijo(Korean verses) based on the verses of Okso Gweon Seop, a man of noble birth in those days. Gweon Seop's verses are analyzed in terms of poetic selves, space and poet's consciousness reflected in his poetic world. Specifically, the present study is to get the picture of the poetic selves, their consciousness and space; to uncover overall poetic features of Gweon Seop's verses objectively; and to understand the tendency of his life and literature for the purpose of identifying the reality in the verses of the gentry in the late period of Joseon.
To start with, Gweon Seop's verses are discussed in relation to poetic selves with various perspectives such as a doer, an observer, a speaker and a soliloquist that appear in his works. From the perspectives of a doer and an observer as a poetic self, readers may sympathize with the impression and emotion that Gweon Seop may have felt in his daily experiences and on tours to a closer extent. The poetic selves with the voice of speakers and a soliloquist lead us to listen to Gweon's Seop's profound inner voice of conflict and agony resulting from the culture which does not accept his life as a retired gentleman and a sightseer throughout his life. The poetic selves with a variety of voices in Gweon Seop's verses speak naturally for what sort of a path Gweon Seop tread through his life and his inner world.
Next, speaking of the space in Gweon Seop's verses, it can be divided into real and imaginary spaces. The former refers to the background in his verses which he experiences and sees in person and expresses with factual things, and provides his poetic expression with the matter-of-factness. Space in Gweon Seop's verses not only shows up as part of factual expression, but also displays imaginary room. In the imaginary space, Gweon Seop describes the world of man and circumambulates his criticism on the world flooded with pain and distress, his own sorrow and pathos, and his sense of values in life.
Lastly, Gweon Seop's consciousness is laid bare in his verses. Gweon Seop discloses in his verses open-minded consciousness in line with his inherent liberal nature and personality and the idea of tradition-oriented gentry at the same time. Considering that the early 18th century when Gweon Seop was writing verses was a transitional phase to modern age, he might well have had the duality of assuming individuality and open-mindedness as well as traditional ideas and consciousness. Through verses written by a noble man named Gweon Seop, rapidly changing consciousness of the gentry and the society and an aspect of change in Sijo may be inferred.
As aforesaid, Gweon Seop proves to have dealt with an aspect of change in the history of Sijo in the world of the gentry. Gweon Seop's literary verses seem to have succeeded to traditional gentry literature and, at the same time, hint at the way a noble man coped with a new trend as a result of historical circumstances and dramatic change in cultural ground in the late period of Joseon. Unfortunately, at present, studies on Gweon Seop's literature make too much of poems and songs written in Korean. In that sense, lyrics, Chinese-based poems, letters, journals on his journey and his comments on music and paintings as well as Sijo need extensively and closely examining to bring the whole aspect of Gweon Seop's literary world to light.